By: Eoghan Olkeriil Ngirudelsang

Koror, Palau — A Chinese woman has been sentenced to five years in prison in Palau for attempting to smuggle more than 500 grams of methamphetamine into the country.

Sau Man Yiu, 52, was convicted of attempted importation and possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced by the Palau Supreme Court on July 14, 2025. The court handed her a 25-year prison sentence, but suspended 20 years of it. As a result, she will serve five years behind bars in Palau.

In addition to prison time, Yiu was fined $10,000 and ordered to leave the country after completing her sentence. She will be registered as an “undesirable alien” and permanently banned from returning to Palau. If she does return, she will serve the remaining 20 years of her suspended sentence.

The case began when Yiu arrived on a flight from Hong Kong on November 19, 2024. Customs officers flagged her for additional screening due to suspicious travel details. Although she claimed to be transiting through Palau, her return ticket was dated three days later, and she had only one change of clothes.

Officers discovered she was wearing men’s shoes, which upon inspection were found to contain black plastic-wrapped packages taped beneath the soles. The packages tested positive for 508 grams of methamphetamine, also known as “ice.”

Yiu was charged the next day and held on $100,000 cash bail before being convicted on May 16, 2025.

Under Palau law, attempted importation of a controlled substance carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of at least $50,000.

Yiu is currently in the Division of Corrections to serve her five-year term.